Hit-'N-Run

Is it really more beneficial to be a cheater in life? Do liars actually do better than honest people in the long run? According to Richard Dawkins' The Selfish Gene, being a cheater actually pays off. After reading Chapter 10 of his book, I realize that "no matter what the ratio in the population, cheats will always do better than suckers" (184). Suckers are those who are altruist and do good to all and bear no grudges. Cheats are those who never do good but always accept it from others. In a population where there are Grudges (those who remember the previous acts of others), it is better to be a cheat until all the suckers are gone then become a Grudge.

This situation reminds of the current political mentality of Colombian senators. They, among the rest of those in power around the world, practice clientelism, which is a type of attitude most commonly attributed to Grudges. More notably, we see through the senators' attendance in Congress the Cheat personality. They collect all $701.520 pesos every 24 hours in while they scam the country. They are expected to repay the state in their service, but they end up being selfish and gyp the people. According to El Tiempo, one of Colombias newspapers, the senators give childlike explanations to excuse their absences. The allege they were in a doctor's appointment which from which they couldn't get a note; in a traffic jam; out of town; or sick. One explanation for this phenomenon, that a liberal senator, Hector Heli Rojas provides is the following: "Los que vienen a sesionar están perdiendo votos con los que está en campaña" (Rojas).

Aunque ganan 701.000 pesos por día, muchos congresistas no van las sesiones